Wednesday 2 October 2013

Desert le le from Le 15


A place like Le15 stands out in a town where every street has at least one restaurant, 2 bakeries and 3 snacks and farsan outlets, and numerous vada pav stalls - Le15 is a blind choice for most of those, who cant sacrifice on taste when they want to snack on some yummy bites. 

This tiny little store has so much to offer that it's beyond awesome. Right next to Phoenix mills is the ultimate heaven for anyone who has the smallest sweet tooth. Inside Good Earth, Raghuvanshi Mills Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai is this small cake heaven.The cupcakes here are the best I've eaten so far.My favourite being the Red Velvet followed by Belgian & Nutella. You may find its price to be slightly steep but as the saying goes that if u want quality,get ready to spend some extra bucks. The macaron's are also great. They have other seasonal desserts too ... Fruit tarts , fruit pastry's.
This one is for those who seriously appreciate their desserts and enjoy the experience of making these bits of pure heaven! Above everything, the attention to detail and the effort to make one feel at home...
and the cheesecakes... it doesn't get better or simpler than this!!! Kudos!! Keep going!!!

Marathi Jevnavar PRAKASH


Prakash Shakahari Upahaar Kendra located at Balkrishna Sadan, Gokhale Road North, Near Shiv Sena Bhavan, Dadar West. Prakash Snack Centre, this restaurant is unique in so many ways. The restaurant has stuck to its Maharastrian menu and is good to go for both snacks and meals. At the cash counter, you are greeted by a Burrp Certificate and an enlarged article about this restaurant which was printed in The New York Times. People always prefer to order the thali peeth here, which is a flat bread made of flours of different grains and is generally filling. The restaurant also serves the typically Maharastrian cuisine of Kanda pohe, batata wada, puri bhaji and other dishes too and all of them are worth trying as they are all made well and taste great! Top off the food with the drink Piyush or masala milk which is popular among the guests. The food is very reasonably priced. Go to Prakash for a unique experience of Maharastrian food by quaintly dressed (shorts, shirts and caps) waiters who don't talk much but let the food do all the talking. After eating as much as you can stuff [a maximum of 3 items + Piyush / Masala Milk], the bill will surely around Rs.200; Value for Money. After you are done eating, the bill is presented to you on a yellow piece of paper written in pencil; a practice followed for many years now. 

Galti se Locha ho gaya...

Manchurian Locho available at: Jani Khaman And Locho House, Shop No.11, Star Trade Centre, Sodawala Lane, opposite Chamunda Circle, Borivali (West) which is priced at  Rs. 40 is one of the best Gujrati, Indian and Chinese combination.

Have you come across any recipe which is a mistake and yet served with style and fashion across the country? If not, let me take an opportunity here to introduce you to ‘Locho’, which is a bad mistake made good through the spirit of entrepreneurship. Incidentally,When a cook in Surat added too much water to his khaman(Gujrati farsan, all mumbaikars would be aware of this term,rest plz Google!!) batter, it became the base for locho. He did not have guts to accept the fault and carried on steaming the same batter. To his surprise the goofed up recipe was loved by people and was soon in demand. ‘Locho’ which literally means ‘mistake’ in Gujarati thus derived its name from here. At Jani, which recently opened in Mumbai after years of success in Surat, locho has gone the way Mumbai’s street dosa and bhel have – it’s got a Chindian version, with a topping of Manchurian or Szechuan sauce along with butter, chaat masala, sev, and onions. For an additional Rs10, they’ll add cheese.

Raste se jaa rahaa tha... Bhel puri Gupta ki kha raha tha...

Channa Chor Bhel and Fried Dal Bhel which is available at: Gupta Bhel Wala, on the pavement outside Khyber and Fabindia in Kala Ghoda at a thrown away price of Rs.20 each
This third-generation bhel and pani puri vendor, who sets up shop right next to Sanjay Singh’s sandwich stall, sells over a dozen varieties of chaat. If you manage to resist his regular bhel and half-hot-half-cold ragda pani puri, try his fried channa chor (chana chor) bhel or fried dal bhel, in which chana chor and fried dal respectively replace kurmura or puffed rice. The bhels even travel well, as slightly moist chana chor or fried dal doesn’t taste bad at all. Douse the heat on your palate at either the nariyal pani wala or the nimbu pani wala, both of whom have stalls close by.


Fresh and Honest Coffee

Fresh and Honest has been an honest choice since the days when I started hating Nescafe and Bru for the chicory powder added in it which spoils the taste of coffee. They have these big black and decker coffee machines with bean holders and coffee grinding mechanisms inside them, and they install 'em all over the place, selling fresh-ground coffee cappucino for cheap, along with other coffee, tea, milk and soup offerings. 



My favourite at this mumbai outlet is the evergreen cappucino. at 8-30ish am when you reach churchgate and you have to drag yourself out of bed at 6:30 to get to work in time, this cappucino is a real eye opener. If i am really hungry, well, I go for Horlicks or for hot chocolate which fills up my stomach a bit and is not too heavy on my pockets also.
The things that differentiate them from a Bru or a Nescafe dispenser? Well, for one, they use fresh milk and hence your milk/tea/coffee is creamy and milky enough. The Bru and Nescafe dispensers use a water and milk-powder mix to create the flavor which is watery at all times. F&H also use fresh crushed beans and hence the coffee is stronger, tastier, yummier!

Anna ki "Chai" Dimaag aur Mood fresh kar jaye...

“Ek chai ki kimmat tum kya jano sunil babu” all those tea lvers would agree with me that not everyone understands the worth of having tea, and the importance it holds in tea-lovers life. We tea-holics can judge and do judge every cup of cutting tea we have at different tea-vendors
All the office goers near Mogul Lane, Opposite New Era Fabrics, Matunga West, depend solely on Anna’s chai to make a fresh start to the hectic day.  Anna makes the best chai but beware, he is fond of sugar. So tell him to make the tea with less sugar. Added advantage of this tapri (road side stall) is that you get to play with Piglini - the local cat and Dancy - the cat dog.

Shake it make it Babieee


·         Bachelorr’s (yes they have an extra ‘r’ and is not any spelling mistake, not by me at least) situated at 45, Sattar Sea View, Chowpatty (Girgaon), Mumbai is one of the best juice parlors in Mumbai . The place is equipped up with people after all the restaurants in the town usually close down. Bachelorr's, Chowpatty Sea Face, It's been in business since the 1940s and has generated a loyal following, who gather by the roadside kiosk during warm evenings, perched on car bonnets and in open boots.  
    
      The place is famous for their milk shakes and the chocolate shake is the best. Even the mango cream that I had tried once was good. The cream-and-strawberry milkshake is a classic, but it also churns out numerous chocolate variations – from Classic Chocolate and Black Gold Premium to Liquid Marble – along with a host of fresh lime, coconut water and lychee juices. 
But then not too forget that it’s too heavy on your wallet also.


Ashok cha Vada Pav... Lay Bhaari


Vada pav is considered to be the staple diet of Mumbai.’ A lunch when skipped, have a wada pav indeed’. (I know it sounds cheesy but that’s the best I could come up with). You enjoy this staple food at every nook and corner in mumbai and everyone has a different specialty attached to it. This Vada Pav at Ashok Vada Pav Stall, Off Cadel Road, Kirti College Lane, PrabhadeviMumbai is undoubtedly the Best in my list, in Mumbai. The stall is crowded all throughout the day. 
The wonders is in the chutneys , the spicy, the sweet and the dry... all blend together to give a salivating experience. The Vada is of a decent size, served with 3 different chutney's [Spicy Green, Tangy Sweet Brown and Dry Garlic] along with some "Chura" [fried crumbs]. The Vada Pav is so famous that by the time every batch of the Vada are fried and ready, they are already sold off. In fact, you will find some customers having a Chura Pav [Pav stuffed with the Fried Crumbs] while waiting for the Vada Pav.
Have 2 of them at a go, top it with an Energee from the stall next door and you are sorted for the day. The popularity has been ratified by numerous newspaper articles and certificates on the stall.

Tuesday 1 October 2013

Khaike Paan - Millionaire Muchhadwalla

Popularly known as "muchhad walla", Jaishankar Tiwari, is the man behind the amazing and mouth watering paan (betel leaf) in Mumbai. Most people zip by in their fancy cars, make a quick stop at Muchhad''s to grab a few paans and zip off again. This millionaire paanwala is legendary for his intimidating moustache and ornate paans, all maintain big and long moustaches that almost touches their ears. This tradition initiated by Shyam Charan the founder of this shop, and this traditional is religiously followed by his sons and grandsons even today.

The wide range is simply mind boggling. The betel-nut loaded Banarasi Paan is not for first timers, who opt instead for the Meetha Paan (Sweet Paan). Also called the ''Ladies Special'' for its lack of tobacco, the Meetha Paan is supposed to be a mouth-freshener but tastes more like dessert! An Indian dinner is kind of incomplete without Muchhad''s betel leaf master creations. Muchhad takes party orders and delivers as well. All these varieties of preparations are made in all three types of Paans i.e. Kalkatta , Banarasi and Maggai.
Serving the customers in the best way possible” is definitely the driving motto behind their successful business. The Tiwari brothers often draw immense satisfaction in serving their customers with the best, at all times. For many of the regular customers to the shop, believe that it is the “family-like service” that attracts them most to the place, apart from the very obvious, paan.


Taste of Aamchi Mumbai and Yenna Kerala at Mara Ahemedabad

Dosas being the authentic dish of south is easily available everywhere but i dont think any one would have thought of any other variety of Dosa than the usual one. By any other variety Maggi Dosa, Pizza Uttapam & other Cocktail Dosa at Bombay Street Cafe – We loved South Indian food prepared by Authentic Cooks of Kerala from Mumbai in Ahmedabad. Confused? Well, to begin with, these people prepare some real awesome unusual tasty Dosas. The variety of the dosas and the justice done to the taste of each one, be it Khakhara Dosa, Gini dosa, Chocolate dosa, Pizza dosa, Manchurian dosa, .. lemme stop here, my mouth is already watering, anyways they had left me speechless the first time i went to this strangely new joint on Bhukkad gali.

We can say Bombay Street Cafe is EXPORTED from Mumbai, where they were already talk of town –  you must have heard of Mithibai college; that where they were! So a Mumbaikar girl took the pain of convincing them to shift to Ahmedabad to give us all a taste of Bombay Street food. Being a mumbaikar even  i had this finger licking variety of dosas which i would have never even imagined when i had been to my home town Gujarat (Ahmedabad). And not to forget the high level of hygiene they maintain – from cooking of food, its ingredients & the table where they keep a hand-sanitizer – probably the only street food people who mean HYGIENE to core! Go on people, get a taste of Mumbai & Kerela by eating at Bombay Street Cafe in Ahmedabad 

Checkout the best dishes of Bombay Street Cocktail Dosa Ahmedabad

If you ever visit Ahmedabad never you miss to visit Bombay Street Cafe.

Address:
Bombay Street Cafe, 
JointKhau Gali, 
Law Garden
Ahmedabad


Bombay Street Cafe
27/1, L Colony,
Opposite Sahajanand College,
Ambavadi, Ahmedabad

  


Punjab ka swaad exclusively at Sainath




Sainath Amritsari Cholle kulcha, this place is more of a take-away than a dine-in place.  At first look, a roadside stall,with unhygienic surrounding and sugarcane stall in the next shop making it an abode of flies. Get near and the mesmarising smell will take you away with it to Amritsar. You have to see it, smell it, eat it, to believe it as to how a 4 cover eatery caters to dozens of patrons waiting in the comfort of their sedans. The father-son duo has been pulling off the entire show with great ease since 1978. The menu is very simple, Amritsari Kulchas and Chole served with sirke wale Pyaaz (Onions soaked in Vinegar), although these days it’s cucumber that has replaced the onions. Still it tastes great as an add-on 

I ordered a Paneer and Cheese variant and trust me; never have I have bit into one in less than 15 seconds after it came out of the tandoor (clay oven). It is finished with copious amounts of butter and a generous sprinkling of coriander powder. The coriander really helps to accentuate the taste and give the plain simple Kulcha another dimension. This feast of kulcha is the best brunch to have to when hungry.

A meal for 2 again will cost you less than Rs.150. A must try when you are that side of town.



Brun maska leke aavni bava

This is one combination that we must have never thought even in wildest of our dreams. Brun maska is an iconic union of bread and butter. Now you are about to close the tab of this post, getting disappointed. You may feel what's so iconinc about bread and butter. But it's not merely bread and this is not merely butter. It's brun or gutli pao -- a local bread that is unique to Mumbai -- and it's crisp and hard and crumbly on the outside and soft inside. The Brun is then sliced and lashings of butter are applied lavishly. Some even sprinkle quite a bit of sugar. It is usually accompanied by the sweet Irani chai. Dipping the brun maska in the chai is the only way to eat it.Its a very special kind-off snack and widely available at all Irani restaurants which you are to hunt in parsi residencies. however the Brun Maska at Kyani & Co is historic. 657 Jer Mahal Estate, Opp. Metro Cinema, Dhobi Talao. If your nearby townside, you can also try it at B Merwan, Opp. Grant Road Station (E).